Semiconductor type potentiometer device

ABSTRACT

Various improvements of a semiconductor type potentiometer device comprising one or more three electrode semiconductor elements each having two end electrodes and an intermediate electrode provided at its intermediate portion, and a magnetic field applying device for applying a magnetic field to the semiconductor element while being moved along the element; these improvements being made to extend greatly the variable range of the output voltage of the device and to obtain an output voltage corresponding to one-dimensional variation as well as twodimensional variation of the magnetic field.

United States Patent Kataoka [451 Sept. 12, 1972 [54] SEMICONDUCTOR TYPE3,085,159 4/1963 McNaney ..338/15 X POTENTIOMETER DEVICE 3,335,3848/1967 Weiss ..338/32 X 3,336,558 8/1967 Wright ..338/217 [72] Japa3,139,600 6/1964 Rasmanis et al. ..33s/32 11 [73] Assignee: KogyoGliutsuin (a/k), Tokyo-to, 3,286,161 11/ 1966 Jones et a1. ..323/94Japan 3,462,673 8/1969 Hieronymus ..323/94 {22] led. Apnl 1969 PrimaryExaminer-Benjamin A. Botchelt PP 8179934 Assistant Examiner-R. KinbergAttorney-Holman, Glascock, Downing 8L Seebold [301 Foreign ApplicationPriority Data [57] ABSTRACT April 24, 1968 Japan ..43/27059 Nov. 20,1968 Japan ..43/s44s6 Venous lmprwemems 9? semlwnducmr type P Nov. 30,1968 Japan ..43/87324 tiometer dev'ce compr'smg one more three elec Feb.19,1969 Japan ..44/11s12 Semiconductor elements each having we end Feb20' 1969 Japan "44/12127 electrodes and an intermediate electrodeprovided at Feb. 21, 1969 Japan ..44/12s91 its intermediate Portion, ande mesnetie field pp y device for applying a magnetic field to thesemicon- 52 us. c1. ..338/32 11, 323/94 11, 324/46, dneter element whilebeing moved along the element; 330/6, 338/217, 338/283 theseimprovements being made to extend greatly the 51 Int. Cl. .3016 7/16variable range of the Output voltage of the device and 58 Field6rsm11....338/32, 32 11, 1s, 17, 18,217, to obtain an Output voltagecorresponding to 338/283; 323/94 H; 324/34, 45, 46 dimensional variationas well as two-dimensional variation of the magnetic field. [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 27 Claims, 55 Drawing Figures1,321,682 11/1919 Thomson ..338/283 ///l JY/ PATENTED E 3.691.502

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SHEET UQUF 11 FIG. 35m) FIG. 36(A) FIG. 37

N N N FIG. 5(5) 8 v S S S N FIG. 35(0) FIG. 36(8) INVENTOR 57,00 47,94K8

- ATTORNEYS PATENTEIISEPIZ I972 3.691.502

sum 11 or 11 FIG. 4|(A) FIG.4I(B) FIG. 42 FIG. 43

FIG. 45

INVENTOR S/fpil' 4 0700 kt? DIVISIONAL VOLTAGE DISTANCE OF MAGNETICFIELD MOVEMENT By 754. M PM ATTORNEYS SEMICONDUCTOR TYPE POTENTIOMETERDEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates toimprovements in potentiometer devices.

Hitherto, conventional potentiometers have constructions such as shownin FIGS. 1(A) or 1(B), which comprises a resistor 1, input terminals 2,3 and an intermediate slider 4 sliding along said resistor, one of saidinput terminals and said intermediate slider 4 being used as outputterminals. According to the potentiometers as described above, theintermediate slider slides along the resistor, so that the resistor isliable to be damaged, or contact between the resistor and slider becomesinferior, thus causing occurrence of unfavorable noise.

As an improved potentiometer not having the disadvantage of theabove-mentioned potentiometers, a new semiconductor type potentiometerdevice as shown in FIG. 2 has been recently proposed, said devicecomprising a semiconductor element 5 having magneto-resistance effect,electrodes 6 and 7 provided at both ends of said element, a centralelectrode 8 inserted in said element, and a magnetic field applyingdevice for applying a magnetic field M to said element while being movedalong said element. In the device of FIG. 2, when a magnetic field M isapplied perpendicularly to the right half of the element 5, resistancebetween the electrodes 7 and 8 is increased, but resistance between theelectrodes 6 and 8 is not increased. Accordingly, when a voltage isapplied to the input terminals (a), (b), the voltage between theelectrodes 6 and 8 is much lower than that between the electrodes 7 and8. However, with the movement of the magnetic field toward the left halfof the element, resistance between the electrodes 6 and 8 is graduallyincreased and that between the electrodes 7 and 8 is graduallydecreased, so that the voltage between the electrodes 6 and 8 can becontinuously increased by leftward movement of the magnetic field M.However, in the conventional semiconductor element having so-ca1ledmagneto-resistance effect, the resistance increase is only tenfold inthe case of using a magnetic field of gauss. Since the magnetic field ofa of conventionally practical permanent magnet is about 3 K gauss,resistance increase is about threefold. Accordingly, variable range ofthe output voltage of the potentiometer device as illustrated in FIG. 2is only about 1:3.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore the primary object of thepresent invention to provide improved and effective potentiometerdevices having no disadvantages of the conventional potentiometerdevices as described above.

It is another object of the present invention to provide improved andeffective two-dimension type potentiometer devices not.

The foregoing objects and other objects as well as the characteristicfeatures of the invention will become more apparent and more readilyunderstandable by the following description and the appended claims whenread in conjunction with the accompanying drawings; in which the same orequivalent members are designated by the same numerals and charactersand descriptions of the same or equivalent members are omitted in thelater embodiments in some cases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1(A) and 1(B) are schematicconnection views of difi'erent primitive potentiometer;

FIG. 2 is a schematic connection view of a known semiconductor typepotentiometer device;

FIG. 3 is a schematic connection view of a known device corresponding toimprovement of the device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG.4(A) and 4(3) are schematic connection views of two similarmodifications of the device of FIG. 3;

H685, 6 and 7 are schematic connection views of different embodimentsaccording to the invention FIG. 8 is a schematic connection view of amodification of the embodiment of FIG. 7, to which construction of theembodiment of FIG. 5 is applied;

FIG. 9 is a schematic connection view of a modification of theembodiment of FIG. 6 to which construction of the embodiment of FIG. 5is applied;

FIG. 10 is a schematic connection view of a modifi cation of theembodiment of FIG. 7, to which construction of FIG. 5 is applied;

FIG. 11 is a schematic connection view of a modification of theembodiment of FIG. 8;

FIG. 12 is a schematic connection view of a modification of theembodiment of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a schematic connection view of an improved modification ofthe semiconductor element of the potentiometer device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 14 is characteristic curves showing the relation between the ratiov.,,/v,,, of variable output voltage V and input voltage V and magneticflux density;

FIG. 15 is a schematic view showing the electric field distribution(full line) and the electric potential distribution (broken line) in thecase when a magnetic field is applied perpendicularly to thesemiconductor element as illustrated in FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a modification of the embodimentof FIG. 13;

FIG. 17 is a front view showing a further modification of the embodimentof FIG. 13;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a practical potentiometer deviceaccording to this invention;

FIG. 19 is a schematic view showing an improved modification of theembodiment of FIG. 3;

FIG. 20 is a schematic view showing a modification of the embodiment ofFIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a further modification of the embodiment of FIG. 19;

FIG. 22 is a schematic view showing a principal modification of thesemiconductor element as illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 23 is a characteristic curve showing the relation between magneticfield intensity (B) and ohmic resistance (R in the device of FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a schematic view showing a modification of the embodiment ofFIG. 22;

FIG. 25 is a schematic view showing a magnetic field applying deviceadapted to the embodiment of FIG. 22;

FIGS. 26 and 27 are, respectively, schematic views showing two kinds ofactual potentiometer devices in which the semiconductor element of FIG.22 is utilized;

FIG. 28 is a schematic view showing a two-dimension type potentiometerdevice according to the invention;

FIG. 29 is a schematic view showing an improved structure of a part ofthe device of FIG. 28;

FIGS. 30, 31, and 32 are different modifications of the device of FIG.28;

FIGS. 33(A), (B), and (C) are schematic views showing a further modifiedpotentiometer device according to the invention;

FIG. 34 is a schematic view showing an improved two-dimension typepotentiometer device according to the invention, to which the device ofFIG. 33 is applied;

FIGS. 35 and 36 are schematic views showing, respectively, differentarrangements of the magnetic field to be applied to the device of FIG.34;

FIG. 37 is a schematic view showing a magnetic field applying devicecoupled with a pickup, said device being applicable for the embodimentof FIG. 34;

FIG. 38 is a schematic view showing a modified device of the embodimentof FIG. 33, said device being of circular type;

FIGS. 39(A), (B), and (C) are schematic views showing different statesof a modified device of the embodiment of FIG. 33;

FIG. 40 is a schematic view showing a semiconductor element having twoend electrodes and metal layers inserted therein, said element showingprinciple of an improvement according to the invention;

FIGS. 41(A) and (B), FIG. 42, and FIG. 43 are schematic views showingsemiconductor elements having two end electrodes, said elementscomprising an improvement according to the invention;

FIG. 44 is a schematic view showing a potentiometer device to which thesemiconductor element of FIG. 41 is applied; and

FIG. 45 is a characteristic curve showing the relation between theoutput voltage and displacement of the magnetic field applied to theelement in the device of FIG. 44.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the device of FIG. 3, thepotentiometer device comprises semiconductor elements 5, 5" 5", eachhaving two end electrodes 9 and one of the electrodes 10, l0, l0" or andone of the intermediate electrodes 11, ll, 11" or 11", respectively. Thesemiconductor elements are parallelly arranged and connected in commonat their electrodes 9, the intermediate electrode 1 l of the firstelement being connected to the end electrode 10' of the second element,the intermediate electrode 11' of the second element being connected tothe end electrode 10" of the third element, and so on. In the device ofFIG. 3, if it is assumed that a magnetic field M produced by a magneticfield applying device (not shown) is applied to only the upper halfportions of the elements, the voltage between the common electrode 9 andthe intermediate electrode 11 of the first element is equal to l/a of aninput voltage applied to the terminals (a) and (b) connectedrespectively to the electrode 10 of the first element and commonelectrode 9, and with all elements having the same construction, theoutput voltage appearing between a terminal (c) connected to theintermediate electrode 1 1" of the last stage element 5" and theterminal (b) becomes equal to (l/a)" of said input voltage. Nextly, whenthe position of the magnetic field M is moved to the lower portions ofthe elements, resistances of the elements at said lower portions areincreased, whereby the output voltage between the terminals (b) and (c)is increased. In the case of the lower position of the magnetic field M,if it is assumed that the voltage between the common electrode 9 and theintermediate electrode 11 of the first element is equal to (l/b) of theinput voltage applied to the input terminals (a) and (b), the outputvoltage between the terminals (0) and (b) becomes equal to (l/b) of theinput voltage. Accordingly, the output voltage varies within the rangefrom (l/a) to (l/b)", the ratio of which being (a/b)". In general, a b,so that in the case of the device comprising a plurality of elementsarranged as described above, the rate of variation of the output voltageis remarkably larger than the case of a device comprising only onesemiconductor element. For example, let it be assumed that a magneticfield of 3 K gauss is used in practice. In this case, if only oneelement is used, the rate of voltage variation is about 3, but if threeelements having the same construction are used, said rate is 3 27.

In FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B), two different modifications of the semiconductorelement assembly of FIG. 3 are shown. Referring to FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B),plural semiconductor elements 5, 5', and 5" are of arcuate shape andarranged concentrically to one another, but connections of endelectrodes 10, 10' and 10", intermediate electrodes 11, 11' and 11" anda common electrode 9 are entirely the same as those in the embodiment ofFIG. 3.

The semiconductor element assembly illustrated in FIG. 4(A) or 4(B) canbe easily constructed by a method comprising the steps of applying aphotoetching technique to a sheet of semiconductor material thereby toform concentrically separated elements and providing electrodes byevaporation-deposition of a metal while masking other portions exceptthe portions to which the electrodes are fixed.

In the potentiometer devices as illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4(A) and 4(A),since a magnetic field is always applied to a portion of each of thesemiconductor elements, the resistance between both ends of each elementis always constant irrespective of position of the magnetic field.Accordingly, even when the potentiometer device is connected to anyelectric circuit, said device does not disturb said electric circuit atall. However, strictly speaking, since the semiconductor element of asucceeding stage is connected to intermediate electrode of thesemiconductor element of the preceding stage, input resistance will bevaried in accordance with variation of the position of the magneticfield. Furthermore, output voltage does not always vary in a linearrelation with respect to displacement of the magnetic field. Accordingto the invention, the above-mentioned disadvantage has been effectivelyavoided by the following three methods.

The first method is, as illustrated in FIG. 5, to reduce successivelythe width or thickness of the semiconductor element of succeeding stagethan that of the semiconductor element of preceding stage, thereby toincrease successively resistances of the successive elements towards theelement of last stage. That is, if resistances of the successivesemiconductor elements are taken respectively as R R R the elements areconstructed to obtain the following relation.

According to establishment of the above relation of the resistances ofthe semiconductor elements, the influence afiorded to the terminals ofthe element of the preceding stage from the resistance of the succeedingelement will become low and furthermore variation of the output voltagedue to variation of the magnetic field becomes almost linear.

The second method is, as illustrated in FIG. 6, to taper or decreasewidth or thickness of each semiconductor element toward the commonelectrode 9, thereby to increase resistance of the element per unitlength. In this case, with movement of position of the applied magneticfield toward lower portion, resistance of each element is increased andeven when the succeeding semiconductor elements are connected inparallel, the resultant resistance between the electrodes is increased,whereby the output voltage between the terminals (b) and (c) isincreased. Furthermore, linear variation of the output voltage withrespect to position of the magnetic field will be established andvariation of the resistance between input terminals becomes low, thusestablishing an ideal potentiometer.

The third method is the same as the first and second methods in theireffects, but improvement of the third method resides in thatmagneto-resistance characteristics of the semiconductor elements aremade to become larger according as they approach to the commonelectrode. For this purpose, the semiconductor elements 5, 5, 5 are madeof a semiconductor material, such as indium or antimonide having largetransfrability, and, as illustrated in FIG. 7, many metal wires 12 aretransversely deposited on the surface of each element by means ofevaporation or plating method so that distance between adjacent wires issuccessively decreased toward the common electrode 9. According to thesemiconductor element assembly constructed as above, with the movementof the magnetic field M toward the common electrode 9, resistance of theindividual element increases, thereby eliminating influence due to thedecrease of the resultant resistance between the electrodes, saiddecrease being caused by parallel connection of the elements.

The embodiment of FIG. 8 consists of the combination of the structuresof the embodiments of FIGS. 5 and 7. The embodiment of FIG. 9 consistsof the combination of the structures of the embodiments of FIGS. 5 and6. The embodiment of FIG. 10 consists of the combination of thestructures of the embodiments of FIGS. 8 and 9 In the case wheresemiconductor material such as indium or antimonide is used for thesemiconductor elements, it is sometimes difficult to obtain an extremelyhigh resistance because of low resistivity of the element.

' According to the present invention, the above-mentioned disadvantagecan be effectively eliminated or reduced by constructing thesemiconductor element assembly as illustrated in the embodiments ofFIGS. 11 and 12, in which each of the semiconductor element ismultiplexly bent in the slant direction, whereby the effective length ofthe element is remarkably increased, thus causing an extremely highresistance of the element. In the embodiment of FIG. 11, the width ofthe semiconductor element and the space between adjacent metal wires 12are successively decreased toward succeeding stages, whereby variationof the resistance between the input terminals, caused by variation ofthe position of the magnetic field, is restricted.

The embodiment of FIG. 12 relates to a further improvement of theembodiment of FIG. 11 and is'equal to the latter except that the widthof each semiconductor element is decreased successively toward the lowerportion of the element.

The embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 12 may be modified so thattheir semiconductor elements are formed so as to have concentric arcuateshapes as in the case of the embodiment of FIG. 4.

Furthermore, the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 12 can be appliedto all kinds of semiconductor elements resistances of which can bevaried in response to the position of a magnetic field applied thereto.Particularly, when any one of the above-mentioned embodiments is appliedto a magneto-resistance element consisting of a semiconductor body suchas indium, antimonide and arcynide having a large transferability, thepotentiometer device manufactured by the present invention can beeffectively used for any voltage having a frequency range from dc. tomillimeter wavelength region, and furthermore said potentiometer deviceis very low in its noise and very high in its S/N in comparison with theconventional variable resistors such as volume-control devices orpotentiometers. Of course, the technique according to the invention canbe applied to the case of an element in which the velocity ofrecombination of electrons with positive holes is made to be different,depending upon any magnetic field. According to the invention, it willbe easily possible toobtain a potentiometer device having no-contact,nonoise, reliability, a very high ability and long life-duration, sothat said device is more effectively applicable for television, radioand the like than the conventional devices or metering apparatuses.

In the principal semiconductor element as illustrated in FIG. 2, theintermediate electrode is provided at the central point of said element.In this element, the relationship between the magnetic field and ratioof V /V is represented by the broken line characteristic curve in FIG.14, so that voltage ratio V /V is within the range of x, x, in thepractically usable range, from +B to -B,,, of the magnetic field andaccordingly the variable range of the adjustable voltage is relativelynarrow. This disadvantage, however, can be simply reduced by providingthe intermediate electrode at a position deviated from the central pointof the element, as illustrated in FIG. 13. According to the structure ofthe semiconductor element of FIG. 13, the above-mentioned ratio V /V isrepresented by the full line characteristic curve in FIG. 14. In thiscase, it is easily possible to increase x lx FIG. 15 shows the electricfield distribution (full line) and the electric potential distribution(broken line) in the case where a magnetic field is appliedperpendicularly to a semiconductor element having a rectangular form anduniform thickness and provided with two end electrodes. In theillustration of FIG. 15, when in the state of reverse direction of themagnetic field, the potential distribution (reverse to theabovementioned case with respect to right and left) and voltage ratio xlx of maximum and minimum divided voltage obtained with respect to ratioI'll of the distances 1 and 1 between the electrodes are calculated, theresults of the following table are obtained.

TABLE Divisional Divisional Voltage Position ratio x, ratio x,divisional of divided with respect with respect range voltage) I to B,to B, Ja /x 0.5 0.70 0.28 2.5 0.4 0.62 0.20 3.1 0.3 0.52 0.13 4.2 0.20.40 0.08 5 0.1 0.28 0.04 7

As will be clear from the above table, if the position of theintermediate electrode is deviated from the central point of thesemiconductor element, the adjustable range of the divided outputvoltage is increased. Of course, even when the intermediate electrode isprovided at a central position of the semiconductor element, if thethickness or width of the element is varied along the element as shown,respectively, in FIG. 16 or FIG. 17, the same effect as that of thestructure of FIG. 13 can be obtained. At any rate, it is only necessarythat position of the intermediate electrode is electrically asymmetricwith respect to the whole part of the semiconductor element.

An actual potentiometer device utilizing the elements as illustrated inFIGS. l3, l6 and 17 to divide a voltage is illustrated in FIG. 18, inwhich a semiconductor element 13 is adhered onto a magnetic disc 14 atits eccentric position and a permanent magnetic disc 15 having N and Spoles along its diametrical position is superimposed on said disc 14 ata small gap therebetween. In the device of FIG. 18, if the disc 15 isrotated by rotating a knob-shaft 16 attached to said disc, the magneticfield applied to the semiconductor element 13 being continuously variedfrom +8., to -B,,, so that any divided output voltage within the rangefrom x to x can be obtained. At any rate, the voltage divisional ratioobtained by moving a magnetic field applied to a semiconductor elementhaving two end electrodes and an intermediate electrode can be madelarge by providing the intermediate electrode at a position where it iselectrically asymmetric with respect to the whole part of said element.

The embodiment of FIG. 19 relates to a semiconductor element assembly towhich the semiconductor element of FIG. 13 is applied; FIG. 20illustrates an improvement of the embodiment of FIG. 19, in which themore the element becomes later stage, the more the element is made to besmaller, whereby electrical connection of the element is made smart; andFIG. 21 illustrates an embodiment obtained by arranging the elements inradial direction. Furthermore, according to the present invention, thepotentiometer device utilizing a semiconductor element having threeelectrodes can be improved by adopting, as shown in FIG. 22, a circuitelement consisting of a semiconductor element 5 such as illustrated inFIG. 2 and a magneto-resistance element 5a connected in series to saidelement 5. According to the circuit element of FIG. 22, multiplicity x/x (refer to FIG. 14) of the voltage divisional ratio can be muchincreased, whereby a practically effective potentiometer device can beobtained.

Referring to FIG. 22, if it be assumed that the resistance of themagneto-resistance element 50 is R this resistance is increased with anincrease of the magnetic field applied to said element irrespective ofthe direction of the magnetic field, as shown in FIG. 23. Now, if it isassumed that the magnetic field applied to the elements 5 and 5a isvaried as indicated in the following table; that is,

Magnetic-resistance element 5a 0 Semiconductor element 5 having threeelectrodes it is assumed that when (+B is applied to the element 5, themagnetic field is not applied to the element 5a at all, but when (-B isapplied to the element 5, the magnetic field is applied also to theelement 5a, and resistances of the element 5 and 5a are respectively Rand R Then, the voltage divisional ratio x' (=V /V will become asfollows.

where x is a voltage divisional ratio obtained by only the element 5.Furthermore, the voltage divisional ratio x in the case of applicationof +B, can be represented by the following equation where x is voltagedivisional ratio obtained by only the element 5 and R is resistance ofthe element 5a. On the other hand, when a magnetic field of B,, isapplied to the element, the resistance of the element 5a increases to RB9 and the voltage divisional ratio x, becomes as follows.

In this case, the multiplicity x 'lx of the dividend voltage isrepresented by the following equation, because RM RM Accordingly, x /xbecomes larger than the case utilizing only one semiconductor elementhaving three electrodes.

In the illustration of FIG. 22, the circuit element consists of twoseparated semiconductor elements which are connected in series, but saidcircuit element may be unified as one body as illustrated in FIG. 24, inwhich metal strips 17 are attached to the surface of the element so asto be perpendicular to the current direction, thereby to increase theresistance increment due to any magnetic field applied to the element.

In the circuit elements as illustrated in FIGS. 22 and 24, for thepurpose of effectuating the function of the element, it is necessarythat the magnetic field b applied to the magnetic-resistance element 5aonly when the magnetic field is directed in a certain direction. Thisrequirement can be satisfied by constructing the magnetic field applyingpermanent magnet 18 as illustrated in FIG. 25, whereby it is possible toapply the magnetic field to only the semiconductor element 5 providedwith three electrodes in the case where the magnetic field is movedtoward an arrow direction. Furthermore, in the case of a rotary typepotentiometer device, the same object can be attained by providingeccentrically the permanent magnet 18 as illustrated in FIGS. 26 and 27.At any rate, as illustrated in FIGS. 22 and 24, a fixed potentiometerdevice having very improved multiplicity of the voltage divisional ratiocan be easily obtained by adopting the circuit element consisting of asemiconductor element provided with three electrodes and amagneto-resistance element which is suitably combined with the formerelement.

In the above-mentioned potentiometer devices, only a voltagecorresponding to a one dimensional physical variation (distancevariation in the linear type and angle variation in the rotary type) canbe obtained and any voltage corresponding to a two-dimensional physicalvariation cannot be obtained.

However, according to further improvement of the invention, apotentiometer device effectively responsive to two-dimensional physicalvariation can be obtained by modifying the above-mentioned semiconductorelements as in the embodiment of FIG. 28. The element in FIG. 28consists of a rectangularly bent, hook-shaped semiconductor body havingmagneto-resistance effect. This semiconductor body can be easilymanufactured by punching out a semiconductor piece according tophoto-etching technique or spraying technique. The element S is providedwith metal electrodes 19 at both ends, corner and intermediate portionsbetween said corner and each of the ends, which are attached to saidelement according to vacuum evaporation, plating or soldering, saidelectrodes being provided, respectively, with terminals a a,,, e, b, andb,,. There is provided a magnetic field applying device (not shown) forapplying a magnetic field Ma having the same shape as that of theelement and being set at a position rotated by 180 leftward from theposition of the angle-shaped element S to said element In this case, anykind of the device may be used for the magnetic field applying device,and since the direction of the magnetic field does not cause any affectto the magneto-resistance effect, a magnetic field is appliedperpendicularly to the element. In the device of FIG. 28, constantvoltages Va ,,e and Va,,e are respectively applied between the terminalsa, and e, and a, and e.

In the device of FIG. 28, when the magnetic field Ma takes the uppermostand rightmost position, the magnetic field is applied to the transversalelement at its right half portion and to the vertical element at itsupper half portion. In this state, the voltage Vb e appearing betweenthe terminals b, and e and the voltage Vb,,e appearing between theterminals b and e become minimum, respectively. With the leftwardmovement of the magnetic field Ma along the axis x, the voltage Vb,e isincreased and with the downward movement of the magnetic field M thevoltage Vb,,e is increased, but their increments are independent to eachother. When the magnetic field Ma is moved toward only the axis x, thevoltage Vb,,e is not varied, because the magnetic field M applied to thevertical element is not varied; and similarly when the magnetic field Mis moved toward only the axis y, the voltage Va e is not varied, becausethe magnetic field M, applied to the transversal element is not varied.Accordingly, movement of the magnetic field M along (x y) plane causesindependent voltage variations in the directions at and y. The functionof the vertical element or transversal element of the element assemblyof FIG. 28 can be effectively improved by inserting metal layers in theelement in parallel to the surface of the electrodes thereof as shown inFIG. 29. Furthermore, if the concept of the embodiment of FIG. 3 isapplied to the embodiment of FIG. 28 as illustrated in FIG. 30,variation of the divided voltage in each of the x and y directions canbe additionally increased and its sensitivity is improved. Theembodiment of FIG. 28 may be further modified as shown in FIG. 31. Thesemiconductor element assembly as illustrated in FIGS. 28, 30, or 31 canbe easily manufactured from a sheet of a semiconductor plate by means ofetching techniques or by forming separately respective semiconductorpieces and by electrically connecting said pieces at their comerelectrodes. Furthermore, since the region of the magnetic field enclosedby dotted line in FIG. 28 is not always necessary, the magnetic fieldapplying device maybe constructed so as to produce the magnetic fieldconsisting of two rectangular fields which are mechanically connected soas to be perpendicular to each other. With above-mentioned devices, evenwhen temperature of the device is varied, resistance of thesemiconductor element is uniformly varied over all parts of the element,and the functional quality of the device is not affected by thetemperature change. The device of FIG. 28 can be utilized to adjust theposition of a needle on a x-y recorder or the position of a bright pointon a Braun tube or can be utilized as a pick-up of a stereo recordingdevice 21, as shown in FIG. 32, by attaching a recording needle 20 to amagnetic field applying device such as shown in FIG. 28 in a manner thattheir angle becomes 45". In the case of the application of the device toa pick-up, since only the part of the displacement is required to beconverted to an electric signal, absolute position is voluntary and itis only necessary that the magnetic field is over the intermediateelectrodes of the semiconductor elements.

The two-dimensional potentiometer device as illustrated in FIG. 28 canbe further improved according to the invention so that an absolute valueof an electric signal (positive voltage in the case of displacement ofpositive direction and negative voltage in the case of displacement ofreverse direction) corresponding to an absolute value of anydisplacement of a magnetic field can be obtained. According to thisimprovement, there is scarcely an affect due to temperature in spite ofusing a semiconductor element and a displacement along a two-dimensionalplane can be converted to two kinds of independent electrical signals.This improved embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 33, inwhich the device comprises a semiconductor element 5 having amagneto-resistance characteristic and is provided with two endelectrodes 22, 23, a central electrode 24 and additionally intermediateelectrodes 25, 26 which are respectively provided between the electrodes22 and 24 and between the electrode 24 and 23; two magnets M M which arecoupled mechanically so that they are simultaneously moved rightward andleftward; and a dc. voltage source BS one terminal of which is connectedto the central electrode 24 and the other terminal of which is connectedto two end electrodes 22 and 23. In the case where the magnets M, arepositioned respectively at middle portions of the addi tional electrodes25 and 26 as shown in FIG. 33(A), areas of the element portions beingnot applied with the magnetic field are the same in the regions betweenthe electrodes 22 and 25, 25 and 24, 24 and 26, and 26 and 23, andsimilarly areas of the element portions being I I applied with themagnetic field are same. Accordingly, potentials of the electrodes 25and 26 are the same and equal to V/2, where V the represents voltage ofthe voltage source BS, so that any output voltage does not appearbetween the terminals (a) and (b) connected respectively to theelectrodes 25 and 26. On the other hand, when the magnets M, are movedrightward as shown in FIG. 33(B), areas of the element portions beingapplied respectively with the magnetic field between the electrodes 22and 25 and that between the electrodes 24 and 26 are decreased and theresistance of said portions are decreased; and furthermore areas of theelement portions being applied respectively with the magnetic fieldbetween the electrodes 25 and 24 I and that between the electrodes 26and 23 are increased and resistances of said portions are increased, andaccordingly, the potential of the electrode 25 is increased by A V andbecomes (V /2) AV and the potential of the electrode 26 is decreased byAV and becomes (V/2) AV, thus producing an output voltage of 2 AVbetween the terminals (a) and (b). n the contrary, as shown in FIG.33(C), when the two magnetic fields are moved by A2: leftward withrespect to the semiconductor element, the resistances at variousportions of the element become reverse to the case of FIG. 33(B) and anoutput voltage of (-2 AV) will be produced between the terminals (a) and(b). That is, an output voltage corresponding to the absolute value ofthe displacement Ax of the magnetic field can be obtained. Accordingly,the device as illustrated in FIG. 33 can be applied to not only anabsolute-displacement meter, but also to detection of any relafivedisplacement or vibration or conversion of any electric signal andfurthermore to any seismometer or vibration picking-up.

According to a further improvement of the inven tion, it is possible toobtain a device adapted to a detect two-dimensional displacement byassembling suitably the devices as illustrated in FIG. 33. Theembodiment of FIG. 34 relates to a two-dimensional device obtained byperpendicularly combining two identical devices which are completelyequal to that of FIG. 33, but small character x is put to variousmembers in the xdirection and small character y is put to the members inthe y-direction. However, tee magnetic field to, be applied to thesemiconductor elements is made to be different from that of theembodiment of FIG. 33. That is, in FIG. 34, the magnetic field M is ofsquare shape having a central square space and takes a symmetricalposition over the combined central electrode 24 in the case of zerodisplacement thereof, widths of the four sides of the magnetic field M,,being, respectively, symmetric with respect to the additional centralelectrodes 25,, 25,, 26,, and 26,, so that in each arm of thesemiconductor element assembly the, area being applied with the magneticfield and the area being not applied with the magnetic field are equalto each other. If the magnetic field M is moved in transversal (x)direction with respect to the semiconductor element assembly from thesymmetric position shown in FIG. 34, an output voltage in proportion tothe component of the displacement of the magnetic field is producedbetween the terminals a and b, as in the case of the device in FIG. 33.This voltage produced between the terminals a, and b, is not affected bythe vertical (yaxis) displacement of the magnetic field M because in thetransversal direction, positions of the portions of two transversal armsof the semiconductor element assembly, said portions being applied withthe magnetic field, are not changed by the displacement of the magneticfield in the vertical (y-axis) direction. Similarly, between theterminals a and b,,, only the output voltage corresponding to ycomponent of the displacement of the magnetic field M is produced. As isclear from the above-mentioned description, any two-dimensionaldisplacement of the magnetic field Mc can be converted to twoindependent output voltages. In the embodiment of FIG. 34, a squareframe-shaped magnetic field is adopted, but four corner portions of saidfield are not necessary in practice, so that four magnets each producinga rectangular magnetic field may be mechanically coupled so as to becommonly moved. From a viewpoint of magneto-resistance effect, sinceonly the magnetic field component applied perpendicularly to thesemiconductor element is effective in practice, any magnetic fieldhaving any direction may be adopted. In practice, a permanent magnet maybe formed to apply the necessary magnetic field or a mag net providedwith a magnetic body having a shape adapted to distribute the necessarymagnetic field may be adopted.

In FIGS. 35 and 36, illustrations of magnetization of the magnetic bodyare shown, said FIGS. corresponding, respectively, to one-dimensionalcase and twodimensional case. In both cases illustrated in FIGS. 33 and34, resistances of all arms of the element viewed from the center pointof the element are not always required to be equal to one another, andit is not necessary to position the central electrode at strictly thecenter point of the element. In this later case, said slightly deviatedpoint is taken as the zero displacement of the magnetic field, becauseat said point the output voltage between the terminals (a) and (b)becomes zero. Furthermore, in the case where it is only required toconvert the change of a relative displacement with respect to time to anelectric signal as in the case of a vibration pick-up, zero-position ofa displacement is not indespensably necessary provided that the magneticfield M is over the central electrode.

The converter for converting two-dimensional displacement to electricsignals can be applied to a stereopick-up. This example is shown in FIG.37, in which a needle 20 affixed to a magnetic body 22 converts atwo-dimensional vibration recorded in a slot of a recording plate 21,thus causing the possibility of regeneration of stereo.

In the various potentiometer devices according to the invention, an ac.power source having a frequency may be used in the place of a dc.voltage source. In this case, a signal having said frequency ismodulated in accordance with the absolute value of the displacement ofthe magnetic field, so that application of the device to a communicationtechnique or an information processing technique can be made possible.

The embodiment of FIG. 33 can be modified so as to have an arcuate orcircular form, thereby to convert any angular displacement of themagnetic field to an electric quantity. FIG. 38 relates to anillustration, in which an arcuate semiconductor element 5 provided withtwo end electrodes 22 and 23 and a central elec- 13 trode 24 and twoadditional intermediate electrodes 25 and 26 having, respectively,terminals (a) and (b) is used. The electrodes 22 and 23 are connected incom mon and a voltage source BS is connected between said commonelectrode (22, 23) and the central electrode 24.

In the embodiment of FIG. 38, if both magnetic fields M, which areconcentrically and symmetrically disposed with respect to thesemiconductor element 5 are made to rotate by an angle A0, an outputvoltage corresponding to the angle A will be produced between theterminals (3.) and (b), as is similar to the case of the embodiment ofFIG. 33. Of course, the embodiment of FIG. 38 can be modified so thatthe element has a closed circular form and the electrodes 22 and 23 areunified. In this case also, the same operation and effect as those inthe case of FIG. 38 can be obtained.

In the embodiments from FIG. 33 to FIG. 38, two magnetic fields areparallelly moved, but said magnetic fields may be replaced by a magneticfield M which is applied symmetrically with respect to the centralelectrode 24, as shown in FIG. 39. In the case where the magnetic fieldM is applied symmetrically to the semiconductor element 5, as shown inFIG. 39(A), the potentials of the electrodes 25 and 26 are equal to kV(V and k represent voltage of the source BS and constant, respectively),and accordingly an output voltage would not be produced between theterminals (a) and (b). However, if the magnetic field M is movedrightward as shown in FIG. 39(B), the resistance between the electrodes26 and 24 is increased, whereby the potential of the electrode 26increases to (kV A V). On the other hand, since the resistance betweenthe electrodes 25 and 24 is decreased, the potential of the electrode 25decreases to (kV A V). As a result, a voltage of 2 AV will be producedbetween the terminals (a) and (b). Similarly, if the magnetic field M ismoved leftward, a voltage of 2 AV) will be produced between theterminals (a) and (b).

The. principle of the embodiment of FIG. 39 can be applied to theembodiments of FIG. 34 and 38, with the same effect as that in theembodiment of FIG. 39.

The current passing through the semiconductor elements illustrated inthe above-mentioned embodiments flows in parallel to the electric fieldin the case of applying no magnetic field to the element, but if amagnetic field is applied to such a semiconductor element 5 having twoend electrodes 6, 7 as shown in FIG. 40, current i (broken line) flowstoward a direction having an angle 0 with respect to the electric field(full line'). This is known as a so-called Hall Efiect. The angle 0depends upon direction of the magnetic field applied and the type of thesemiconductor element (N-type or P- type). Furthermore, the angle 0 isdenoted as a Hall angle and the more transferability of the carrier ofthe semiconductor body is larger or the intensity of the magnetic fieldis larger, the more said angle becomes larger.

On the other hand in the case of FIG. 40, resistivity of thesemiconductor body is increased by application of a magnetic fieldthereto, but said increase is very low. Accordingly, for the purpose ofobtaining a practical magneto-resistance element, it is preferable, asshown in FIG. 40, to insert a plurality of metal layers l2 in thesemiconductive element so as to be perpendicular to the longitudinaldirection of the element. The metal layers 12 may be provided by anymethod such as soldering, vacuum evaporation and plating. Due toexistence of the metal layers, the electric field E must beperpendicular to the metal layers, so that direction of the current isinclined by application of a magnetic field to the element, wherebycurrent passage is lengthened, thus increasing resistance of theelement. However, even when the metal layers 12 are provided, resistanceincrement caused by a magnetic field is not large unless the distancebetween adjacent metal layers 12 is extremely shortened. Furthermore,the abovementioned effect due to the metal layers 12 is particularlygreat at the region near the metal layer, so that resistance variationbecomes stepwise. These disadvantages can be effectively reduced,according to the invention, by providing the metal layers 12 so as to beinclined with respect to the direction of the semiconductor element 5,as shown in FIG. 41. FIG. 41(A) shows the case in which a magnetic fieldH directed frontward from a rear side of the view surface is applied toa semiconductor element of N type, in which the electric field E isperpendicular to the metal layer 12 at point p, so that the current iflows transversely so as to have the Hall angle 0. However, at point q,the current strikes against the side surface of the element and cannotflow further.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 41(A), length of the current passageis increased more than the case when a magnetic field is not applied tothe element, whereby resistance between two end electrodes 6 and 7 ofthe element 5 is increased. Of course, since the current flowing fromthe point q disappears in practice, distortion of the electric fieldwill occur in the element and perpendicularity of the electric field tothe metal layers is somewhat distorted, but as a whole, the efiect issubstantially same. However, when the application direction of themagnetic field is reversed as shown in FIG. 41(B), the current flowsrather uniformly at all parts of the element. The embodiment of FIG. 41can be further improved by providing two end electrodes 6 and 7 so as tobe parallel to the metal layers 12 as shown in FIG. 42. Furthermore, inthe embodiments of FIGS. 41 and 42, the electrodes 6 and 7 and the metallayers 12 may be formed so as to have an angled-shape as shown in FIG.43 or an arcuate shape.

A potentiometer device obtained by utilizing a three terminalsemiconductor element to which the principle of metal layer inclinationis applied and a magnetic field applying device for applying a magneticfield M to said element while being moved along said element is shown inFIG. 44. According to the embodiment of FIG. 44, the output voltageproduced between a central electrode and an end electrode 7 in the caseof applying a voltage between the electrodes 6 and 7 can be adjusted asshown in FIG. 45 by movement of the magnetic field M along the element5.

Furthermore, the principle of inclining the metal layers to be insertedin the semiconductor element can be effectively applied to the variousembodiments of FIGS. 7, 8, 10, ll, 12, 24, and 29, thereby to improveability of the device. Of course, inclined metal layers may be insertedin the element of FIG. 4.

I claim:

1. A semiconductor potentiometer device comprising an assembly of atleast two three-terminal semiconductor elements each with a differentresistance, each element having first and second end electrodes and anintermediate electrode, all first end electrodes of said elements beingconnected to a common input terminal, the intermediate electrode of saidelement with the least resistance being connected to the second endelectrode of said element with the second least resistance, theintermediate electrode of said element with the second least resistancebeing connecting to the second end electrode of any existing elementwith the third least resistance, the intermediate electrode of anyexisting element with the third least resistance being connecting to theintermediate electrode of any existing element with the fourth leastresistance, and so on in cascade fashion, and wherein the intermediateelectrode of said element with the largest resistance is connected to anoutput terminal; magnetic field applying means for applying a commonmagnetic field to said semiconductor element assembly; and means forchanging the relative position of said magnetic field on saidsemiconductor assembly. v

2. A semiconductor type potentiometer device as claimed in claim 1, inwhich the semiconductor elements of the assembly are of arcuate shapeand arranged concentrically to one another.

3. A semiconductor type potentiometer device as claimed in claim 1, inwhich each of the semiconductor elements of the assembly decreases incross-section gradually toward the common electrode.

4. A semiconductor type potentiometer device as claimed in claim 1, inwhich each of the semiconductor elements of the assembly has amagneto-resistance characteristic which is made larger according as itapproaches to the common electrode.

5. A semiconductor type potentiometer device as claimed in claim 4, inwhich each of the semiconductor elements is provided with many metalmembers provided transversely on the surface so that distance betweenadjacent metal members is successively decreased toward the commonelectrode.

6. A semiconductor type potential device as claimed in claim 1, in whicheach of the semiconductor elements of the assembly has a shape obtainedby bending it in a zigzag state along its length.

7. A semiconductor element adapted to a semiconductor type potentiometerdevice comprising a threeterminal semiconductor element having first andsecond end electrodes and an intermediate electrode and a magnetic fieldapplying means for applying a magnetic field to said semiconductorelement while causing relative movement of said element and magneticfield; said element being provided with at least one slant metal pieceinserted therein so as to be inclined at a constant angle with respectto the side edges of the element along the length thereof.

8. A semiconductor element adapted to a semiconductor type potentiometerdevice comprising a threeterminal semiconductor element having first andsecond end electrodes and an intermediate electrode and a magnetic fieldapplying means for applying a magnetic field to said semiconductorelement while causing relative movement of said element and magneticfield; said element being provided with at least one metal pieceinserted therein and having an angled shape.

9. A semiconductor type potentiometer device as claimed in claim 1, inwhich, the intermediate electrode of each of the semiconductor elementsis made to be electrically asymmetric with respect to both ends of saidelement.

10. In a semiconductor type potentiometer device comprising athree-terminal semiconductor element having first and second endelectrodes and an intermediate electrode and a magnetic field applyingmeans for applying a magnetic field to said semiconductor element whilecausing relative movement of said element and magnetic field; animprovement of said device, in which said element is provided with amagneto-resistance element connected in series thereto, the free endelectrodes of said elements being input terminals and the free endelectrode and intermediate electrode of said semiconductor element beingoutput terminals, and the magnetic field applying means comprising meansadapted to apply the magnetic field to said magneto-resistance elementonly when the magnetic field is directed to a certain direction.

11. A semiconductor type potentiometer device as claimed in claim 10, inwhich the three-electrode semiconductor element and themagneto-resistance element which are connected in series are unified asone body.

12. A semiconductor type potentiometer comprising an angle-shapedsemiconductor element provided with electrodes at both ends, at thecorner, and at intermediate portions between said comer and each of saidboth ends, and means for applying to said element a magnetic fieldhaving the same shape as that of said element and being set at aposition rotated by from the position of said element while causingrelative movement of said element and means, a pair of electrodes at oneend and the comer of the element forming one side input terminal pair,another pair of electrodes at another end and the comer of the elementforming another side input terminal pair, and the two intermediateelectrodes forming output terminals, thereby to make the deviceresponsive to two-dimensional physical variation.

13. A semiconductor type potentiometer as claimed in claim 12, in whichthe semiconductor element is provided with metal members insertedtherein disposed in parallel to the surface of the electrodes.

14. A semiconductor type potentiometer as claimed in claim 12, in whicheach of the vertical and transversal parts of the angle-shapedsemiconductor element consists of at least two cascade-connectedsemiconductor elements.

15. A semiconductor type potentiometer as claimed in claim 12, in whicheach of the vertical and transversal parts of the angle-shapedsemiconductor element consists of zigzag-shaped semiconductor element.

16. A semiconductor type potentiometer, comprising a semiconductorelement having a magneto-resistance characteristic and provided with twoend electrodes, a central electrode and additional intermediateelectrodes which are respectively provided between said end electrodesand said central electrode, and comprising two magnetic field applyingmeans which are mechanically coupled so as to be simultaneously

1. A semiconductor potentiometer device comprising an assembly of atleast two three-terminal semiconductor elements each with a differentresistance, each element having first and second end electrodes and anintermediate electrode, all first end electrodes of said elements beingconnected to a common input terminal, the intermediate electrode of saidelement with the least resistance being connected to the second endelectrode of said element with the second least resistance, theintermediate electrode of said element with the second least resistancebeing connecting to the second end electrode of any existing elementwith the third least resistance, the intermediate electrode of anyexisting element with the third least resistance being connecting to theintermediate electrode of any existing element with the fourth leastresistance, and so on in cascade fashion, and wherein the intermediateelectrode of said element with the largest resistance is connected to anoutput terminal; magnetic field applying means for applying a commonmagnetic field to said semiconductor element assembly; and means forchanging the relative position of said magnetic field on saidsemiconductor assembly.
 2. A semiconductor type potentiometer device asclaimed in claim 1, in which the semiconductor elements of the assemblyare of arcuate shape and arranged concentrically to one another.
 3. Asemiconductor type potentiometer device as claimed in claim 1, in whicheach of the semiconductor elements of the assembly decreases incross-section gradually toward the common electrode.
 4. A semiconductortype potentiometer device as claimed in claim 1, in which each of thesemiconductor eLements of the assembly has a magneto-resistancecharacteristic which is made larger according as it approaches to thecommon electrode.
 5. A semiconductor type potentiometer device asclaimed in claim 4, in which each of the semiconductor elements isprovided with many metal members provided transversely on the surface sothat distance between adjacent metal members is successively decreasedtoward the common electrode.
 6. A semiconductor type potential device asclaimed in claim 1, in which each of the semiconductor elements of theassembly has a shape obtained by bending it in a zigzag state along itslength.
 7. A semiconductor element adapted to a semiconductor typepotentiometer device comprising a three-terminal semiconductor elementhaving first and second end electrodes and an intermediate electrode anda magnetic field applying means for applying a magnetic field to saidsemiconductor element while causing relative movement of said elementand magnetic field; said element being provided with at least one slantmetal piece inserted therein so as to be inclined at a constant anglewith respect to the side edges of the element along the length thereof.8. A semiconductor element adapted to a semiconductor type potentiometerdevice comprising a three-terminal semiconductor element having firstand second end electrodes and an intermediate electrode and a magneticfield applying means for applying a magnetic field to said semiconductorelement while causing relative movement of said element and magneticfield; said element being provided with at least one metal pieceinserted therein and having an angled shape.
 9. A semiconductor typepotentiometer device as claimed in claim 1, in which, the intermediateelectrode of each of the semiconductor elements is made to beelectrically asymmetric with respect to both ends of said element. 10.In a semiconductor type potentiometer device comprising a three-terminalsemiconductor element having first and second end electrodes and anintermediate electrode and a magnetic field applying means for applyinga magnetic field to said semiconductor element while causing relativemovement of said element and magnetic field; an improvement of saiddevice, in which said element is provided with a magneto-resistanceelement connected in series thereto, the free end electrodes of saidelements being input terminals and the free end electrode andintermediate electrode of said semiconductor element being outputterminals, and the magnetic field applying means comprising meansadapted to apply the magnetic field to said magneto-resistance elementonly when the magnetic field is directed to a certain direction.
 11. Asemiconductor type potentiometer device as claimed in claim 10, in whichthe three-electrode semiconductor element and the magneto-resistanceelement which are connected in series are unified as one body.
 12. Asemiconductor type potentiometer comprising an angle-shapedsemiconductor element provided with electrodes at both ends, at thecorner, and at intermediate portions between said corner and each ofsaid both ends, and means for applying to said element a magnetic fieldhaving the same shape as that of said element and being set at aposition rotated by 180* from the position of said element while causingrelative movement of said element and means, a pair of electrodes at oneend and the corner of the element forming one side input terminal pair,another pair of electrodes at another end and the corner of the elementforming another side input terminal pair, and the two intermediateelectrodes forming output terminals, thereby to make the deviceresponsive to two-dimensional physical variation.
 13. A semiconductortype potentiometer as claimed in claim 12, in which the semiconductorelement is provided with metal members inserted therein disposed inparallel to the surface of the electrodes.
 14. A semiconductor typepotentiometer as claimed in claim 12, in which each of the vertical andtransversal parts of the angle-shaped semiconductor element consists ofat least two cascade-connected semiconductor elements.
 15. Asemiconductor type potentiometer as claimed in claim 12, in which eachof the vertical and transversal parts of the angle-shaped semiconductorelement consists of zigzag-shaped semiconductor element.
 16. Asemiconductor type potentiometer, comprising a semiconductor elementhaving a magneto-resistance characteristic and provided with two endelectrodes, a central electrode and additional intermediate electrodeswhich are respectively provided between said end electrodes and saidcentral electrode, and comprising two magnetic field applying meanswhich are mechanically coupled so as to be simultaneously moved alongsaid element and a voltage source which is connected at its one terminalto said central electrode and at its other terminal to said both endelectrodes, thereby to derive a variable voltage from said intermediateelectrodes.
 17. A semiconductor type potentiometer as claimed in claim16, in which the semiconductor element has a ring-shaped configuration.18. A semiconductor type potentiometer as claimed in claim 16, in whichthe two magnetic field applying means are made of magnets havingrespective polarities selected from combinations of N, N; S, S; and N,S.
 19. A semiconductor type potentiometer comprising a cross-shapedsemiconductor element provided with four end electrodes, a centralelectrode, and intermediate electrodes which are respectively providedbetween said end electrode and central electrode, and means for applyinga square-frame-shaped magnetic field to said semiconductor element whilecausing relative movement of said element and magnetic field, all endelectrodes forming a common terminal of input terminals and said centralelectrode forming another terminal of said input terminals and saidcentral electrode forming another terminal of said input terminals, andintermediate electrodes in each vertical part and transversal part ofthe semiconductor element forming output terminals.
 20. A semiconductortype potentiometer comprising a semiconductor element having two endelectrodes, a central electrode, an intermediate electrode providedbetween said central electrode and one of said end electrodes, andanother intermediate electrode provided between said central electrodeand another end electrode, and comprising means adapted to apply amagnetic field to said element while causing relative movement of saidelement and magnetic field along said element, said end electrodesforming input terminals and said intermediate electrodes forming outputterminals.
 21. A contactless potentiometer; comprising at least twothree-terminal semiconductor elements having electrodes provided at twoends and intermediate thereof and arranged in parallel in the sameplane, one end electrode of each element being connected electrically incommon and an intermediate electrode of said each element beingconnected to the other end electrode of the next-placed element in onedirection; and means for applying a magnetic field substantiallyperpendicular to said plane to only a part of each said semiconductorelements along the length and for moving said magnetic fieldsimultaneously along said elements; whereby a variable output voltage isobtained across said common electrode and said intermediate electrode ofsaid element placed at the far side when an input voltage is appliedacross both end electrodes of said element placed at the other far sideon the said plane.
 22. A contactless potentiometer as claimed in claim21, said semiconductor elements being arranged in a concentric form andsaid magnetic field being of fan shape.
 23. A contactless potentiometeras claimed in claim 21, zero-field resistance of said elements beingmade succeedingly higher.
 24. A contactless potentiometer as claimed inclaim 21, the cross-section of each said element being made varied alongthe length of said element.
 25. A conTactless potentiometer as claimedin claim 21, in which at least one metal piece is provided on each ofsaid elements disposed at a slanted constant angle to the side of saidelement.
 26. A contactless potentiometer as claimed in claim 25, inwhich the interval of said metal pieces is made varied along the lengthsof said elements.
 27. A contactless potentiometer as claimed in claim25, the shape of said element being made angled.